“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).

This verse paints a beautiful word picture in my mind. I see someone bowing low before Jesus, and Jesus gently holding them as He raises them up. There is another picture that Jesus paints in Luke:

“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:8-10).

Jesus has an amazing way of turning things on their heads, as when he says, “The first will be last, and the last will be first.” This passage from Luke speaks of humility as a position—in this case, the lowest place (or farthest from the host). In the same way, humility is our position in relation to others, and to Christ. Bottom line, humility is not getting down on yourself. Humility is properly submitting to authority.

Jesus set the example. He humbled himself to be incarnated as a man, to die a horrible death on the cross; to be the lamb, the atoning sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. And then God raised him from the dead, and Jesus ascended to the right hand of God. And from there he will rule and reign. He knew that if he was obedient to his Father, that his Father would lift him up.

In the same way, we should be obedient to our heavenly Father, knowing that he will lift us up. James Chapter 4 leads off with why we have strife with our fellow brothers and sisters. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (v.4). He then proceeds to tell us how to change this dynamic: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. (James 4:7-10)

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34).

In Christ,

Judy